North Korea, South Korea to reopen Kaesong industrial park next week

By CNN Staff

Updated 1551 GMT (2351 HKT) September 11, 2013

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Photos:Photos: Koreans blocked from the North

Kaesong: A North-South bridge – A South Korean soldier stands on a road linked to North Korea at a military checkpoint in Paju on Wednesday, April 3. North Korea has asked for talks to reopen the industrial complex, which is an important symbol of cooperation between the two countries.

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Photos:Photos: Koreans blocked from the North

Koreans blocked from the North – South Korean soldiers walk down the empty road after trucks were denied access to the Kaesong joint industrial park in North Korea in April as tensions flared.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – South Korean trucks turn back after they were banned from entering Kaesong in April.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – An officer directs a South Korean car that was denied access at a military checkpoint in Paju.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – A South Korean military vehicle leads cars arriving from the Kaesong joint industrial park to Paju.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – South Koreans stand in front of an information desk at the Inter-Korean Transit Office in Paju after being blocked from North Korea in April.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – South Korean trucks turn back.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – A truck drives back toward Paju.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – Reporters gather in front of customs at the Inter-Korean Transit Office in Paju in April.

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South Koreans blocked from the North – A South Korean soldier walks past a Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee bus at the Inter-Korean Transit Office in April.

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Story highlights

Kaesong Industrial Complex is seen as a key symbol of inter-Korean cooperation

North closed it in April as military tensions with the South increased

Both governments now agree the zone's operation will not be affected by politics

North and South Korea have agreed to reopen their joint industrial park on a trial basis next week, nearly five months after it was shut down, according to a press release from the South's Unification Ministry.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex is seen as a key symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

According to the press release, "companies will begin re-operation from September 16 on a test run."

The date was set after hours of intense negotiations between the two sides.

The complex was shuttered in April by North Korea amid soaring military tensions.

North Korea expelled South Korean workers and suspended activity at the zone, which sits on the North's side of the Koreas' demilitarized zone.

But the tensions have since eased, and the generally secretive North recently allowed a large Western media contingent to cover the 60th anniversary of the armistice that stopped the Korean War in 1953.